I'm sure it's all just a ruse to lull the New Zealanders into a false sense of security before giving them a good hiding in the Autumn. Well, maybe not, but hopefully England will get back on track and it will have that effect anyway.

More seriously, I'm less bothered by the results (while England are good enough to win the series, a 3pt defeat away to SA is hardly a disaster - probably the best any of the 6 nations teams this weekend) than by the ongoing injuries. It would be good to get all players back without them being broken.

Not another Lancaster, not even close. Jones has 2/3 wins in the 6 nations - Lancaster had 0/4. He's lost 4 in a row, winnable games but mostly against decent opposition playing fairly well. So disappointing no doubt, but not a Lancaster yet. If he can get the team back on track next season we will look back on this as a post-Lions blip, if they get worse or don't improve then it will be the right time to ask questions as to why not.

Well give us a game against that side on a neutral venue and we'll have a reasonable comparison.

Since 2011 RWC South Africa have played 15 games at home against the old 5N sides and lost 1, drawn 1. Ireland got 1 win in 2016 and we got the draw in 2012. Interestingly Ireland won the Cape Town test and lost the two at altitude.

The SA team Wales beat was completely different. Not a single player in both starting XVs
Looked like tired minds and bodies to me. Mako looked a shadow of his best and looked both physically shattered and frustrated when he came off. Who thought it was a good idea to ask players who had been on Lions tour followed by a tough domestic season to go, without much preparation, to take on the Boks at high altitude has got something to answer for. The whole lot would have benefited greatly from an extended rest.

graham t ....
Looked like tired minds and bodies to me. Mako looked a shadow of his best and looked both physically shattered and frustrated when he came off. Who thought it was a good idea to ask players who had been on Lions tour followed by a tough domestic season to go, without much preparation, to take on the Boks at high altitude has got something to answer for. The whole lot would have benefited greatly from an extended rest.

Absolutely

Regardless of these results our players are being flogged to death [flogged as in sold for profit] .. too much rugby

''It [the NHS] will last as long as there are folk left with the faith to fight for it'' Aneurin Bevan

Not a great run for England at the moment and clearly the camp is grumpy, the rugby press don't like Jones and are sticking the knife in all over the place this week.

I think the positive thing is that where England aren't performing is areas where i think we will be strong once the World Cup comes around. Farrell, Itoje and both Vunipolas have not been at their best on this tour but i think with a pre-world cup camp in them they will be firing. Because they are in everybody's team, the blame game seems to bypass these four players even though they have been pretty poor the last two weeks.

Daly and Slade also get free passes as there would be too much egg on faces to admit they've been poor. So all the blame gets concentrated on the scapegoats in the rest of the team. I feel sorry for Daly being played at Full Back, but in the first test in particular he wasn't good.

Hartley, Joseph, Cole, Lawes have been missed and all look like they will be coming back in. I don't suppose any of the journalists currently peddling Cipriani every article have bothered to think about whether Jamie George is having more of an impact than Hartley?

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